I have had the Gold for probably close to 20 years. I have never pulled out the trigger group. Its not my only 12ga, but its probably hunted ducks 4-5 days a year all that time, its been to the trap range for 2-4 rounds maybe a dozen times (its my older son's favorite trap gun - and will be his on Xmas this year), and its been out for a few pheasant shoots when the sun's too bright for ducks to come within 1/4 mile of the marsh.

After any shooting, I spray a little Rem oil down around the trigger and around the action, and then blow it out with compressed air. I guess if it ever fails, I'll take a closer look, but until then... why mess with it?

My dad has a B80 that he tried to take apart once and lost a spring somewhere. Took a couple months for a gunsmith to find one, and during that time he used my Gold. He shoots at least 3x/week during duck season. He hasn't tried to take apart the B80 since then, and its running like a champ still too.

Edit: Hey OP, my dad's a Navy vet and we live in the SF Bay area too. Can't go wrong with the Brownings. Great minds must think alike haha

Thanks, Iskra; that's exactly the kind of feedback I was looking for. I really like my Brownings. Had a 12 gauge Citori for years but finally tired of the recoil and sold it. If I come across a good used 20 gauge Citori someday, I'm in trouble. And I didn't think of the compressed air idea which makes sense. All the best to your Dad.

“You and I have a rendezvous with destiny. We’ll preserve for our children this, the last best hope of man on earth, or we’ll sentence them to take the last step into a thousand years of darkness. ” (Ronald Reagan, 1964)